Former NBA player Kwame Brown, the first overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, shared a rant Monday afternoon in which he said he believes “gatekeepers” of Black celebrities are “shaming” people into voting for Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.
He also told viewers that Harris will not “pay anyone's bills with the color of their skin.”
Brown, who played 13 seasons in the NBA, spoke for nearly five minutes, criticizing comedian and host Rickey Smiley, who recently criticized Black social media users who did not support Harris.
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Kwame Brown of the Philadelphia 76ers at the American Airlines Center on December 18, 2012, in Dallas, Texas. (Ronald Martínez/Getty Images)
“Every time a man goes on TV or on his radio show and forces or tells his followers to follow or unfollow black people who don't like Kamala… What would happen if black people voted for Kamala? [independent presidential candidate] “Cornel West? Oh, that doesn't fit your narrative,” Brown said.
Brown then went on to point out how “inflation is at an all-time high,” and he doesn't think Harris is going to fix that problem for Black Americans.
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“When you're talking about real situations, people don't care if someone is black or not,” Brown said. “You're not paying anyone's bills with your skin color. Kamala Harris is not going to help you pay your bills just because she's black.”
Brown went on to call people like Smiley, comedian DL Hughley and Steve Harvey the “get-along gang,” implying that they support Harris simply because she is black.
Specifically critical of Harvey, who recently said Harris was an “alley-oop” for voters on Election Day.
Kwame Brown of the 3 Headed Monsters performs during week seven of the BIG3 3-on-3 basketball league at Rupp Arena on August 6, 2017, in Lexington, Kentucky. (Kevin C. Cox/BIG3/Getty Images)
“What do you mean alley-oop?” Brown asked. “You're alley-ooping the Americans to this fool who's not going to give them anything, but he gave the Asians a chance.” [Americans] $26 billion? This isn't about basketball, Steve Harvey, this is about politics. And politics decides people's lives. Politics decides where you're going to live, how well you're going to live in that area, what rules you're going to follow, and the school system. Everything is decided by politics.”
Harvey joined Harris at the 100 Black Men of America conference in Atlanta in June, where they discussed President Biden's efforts to help Black Americans, among other topics.
Brown called himself the “wrong messenger” of the information he was giving his viewers in the video, referring to himself as a “failure,” as he was called after he didn't turn out the way everyone in the NBA believed.
Brown was drafted first overall by the Washington Wizards in 2001, but the high school star from Glynn Academy in Georgia never took off with the Wizards in four seasons.
Kwame Brown, the first pick in the 2001 NBA draft, says Kamala Harris' “skin color is not going to pay for our groceries” during a lengthy speech. (Getty Images)
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He then played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers.
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